


M'effacer du paysage

by havuhadanosejob



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Slow Burn, almost everyone mentioned, hard themes quickly explored, korra meets an engineer after her fight in korra alone, very little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 11:06:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6282154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/havuhadanosejob/pseuds/havuhadanosejob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only person out there is a beat-up woman crazily yelling at nothing and sending jets of flames in the air. This attracts the attention of the mechanic -a woman- who calls out to her, asking if she's alright.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The shop was closed for the night but the windows were still lit. One could see someone -the owner?- working on an engine. It wasn't that late -11 at most- but the streets were already deserted and everything closed. Not exactly surprising for the Earth Kingdom, even for a city that big. Only Ba Sing Se is lively 24/7 here.

The only person out there is a beat-up woman crazily yelling at nothing and sending jets of flames in the air. This attracts the attention of the mechanic -a woman- who calls out to her, asking if she's alright. She tries to run away, to brush past her, but a strong grip on her arm stops her. How pathetic, the Avatar, master of all elements, bringer of balance to the world, cannot even resist against a common woman. Maybe she's an earthbender though, her eyes are a brilliant green, but her features are 100% Fire Nation.

"Let go of me!"  
"You didn't answer. Are you okay?" The mechanic is peering down at her, with concern and surprise in her eyes ( _why is she surprised?_ ), "Let me patch you up."  
"I don't need your help." She's looking over her shoulder at the street, well, towards the street, the mechanic doesn't see anything she could be looking at. "I just need to go."  
"Look, you're obviously not fine. I'm used to accidents in the shop, I can help you."  
"You're not gonna unhand me, are you?"  
"Not until you're inside."  
She does as promised, locking the door and offering her hand, "I'm Asami." Said hand is covered in grease smears and she retracts it sheepishly when her guest only stares.

Asami goes to retrieve a clean cloth and ice ( _ice? here?_ ), and applies it to her swollen eye, not that it's gonna do any real good but it does numb the pain she didn't realise was present there. She moves it to the back of her head in hope of calming the raging headache she feels coming up.  
"Let me get you something for that."  
Asami disappears upstairs for a few minutes and comes back with a weird greenish brown concoction that smells really bitter and a bottle of clear liquid.  
"I'm sorry, all I have is this lousy moonshine, I would advise against drinking it, but it will do the trick."

She stirs the green drink and offers it wordlessly, before wetting a piece of cloth with the alcohol. She lets her hand hover over the visible scrapes on the woman's left elbow, waiting for permission while she asks "So do you have a name?"  
To avoid replying, she gulps down the drink and starts to cough. Asami doesn't know if it is due to the taste or the question, but all she gets in reply is a gruff and seemingly final "Doesn't everyone?"  
This woman doesn't even flinch at the stinging sensation of alcohol on her exposed flesh. She actually relishes it, it's a welcome distraction from the dull pain and the numbness she seems to feel most days now.  
Asami decides to drop it for now and asks instead if she has other cuts or scrapes that need cleaning. When her patient silently turns around and lifts her shirt, Asami gasps at the sight of her bruised and battered back, but doesn't comment.  
While she finishes the job, ending with her cut knees and calves, she surprises her guest by apologizing, "I'm sorry for earlier, I shouldn't have touched you without your permission, much less grabbed you like that." She waits for a reply, or at least some kind of acknowledgement, that finally comes in the form of a somewhat uncertainly grateful stare. She'll take it.

"And don't think I'm letting you leave tonight. Come on, upstairs, I'll draw you a bath and you can sleep here."  
She's met by more silence and disbelief, "Water is sparse and for all you know, I could be a criminal."  
There's also something Asami cannot pinpoint for sure in her voice. If she had to guess, she'd wager it's resignation, so she just leads the way and says "Shut the lights, please?"

She goes straight to fill the bathtub -a luxury indeed in these parts- before getting some clean clothes and towels for the stranger. "Take your time, I'm gonna prepare your bed."

Afterwards she takes a quick shower and goes to the guestroom to explain "I'll make us breakfast tomorrow, but don't hesitate to come get me for any reason, OK?" She feels like she has to be very clear, explain everything so this mystery bender will not be gone by tomorrow without a trace. She waits a beat longer, receives a hesitant nod, smiles as warmly as she can with a calm "Good night," and leaves. She does not hear the whispered "Good night, Asami" she wasn't expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first multi-chapter work, and my first in this fandom. I don't want to invalidate Asami's role before Korra's recovery, it's actually one of my favorite part, but this just came to me. Feel free to comment or come talk to me on tumblr (same username).
> 
> On a side note, the green bitter drink is based on an awful green/brown bitter indian powder I used to take as a kid for stomachaches. it was really efficient but disgusting.
> 
> Also, the title literally means "to erase myself from the landscape", but is more poetic in French. It's from the song "Que n'ai-je?" by Keren Ann. The whole song is sadly nostalgic and felt fitting, both for Korra and Asami in this fic


	2. Chapter 2

When Asami wakes up, she is happily surprised to see her guest is still here. Even more surprising, she's made breakfast, and it smells heavenly.  
"Wow, you've-" she cuts herself off to clear her throat from its usual morning raspiness, "you've made a ton of food."  
The morning seems to be full of surprises because the woman smiles sheepishly -or shyly maybe- and answers willingly "Sorry, I couldn't sleep and I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. You've been nothing but kind and I acted like a jerk. But now that you mention it, I did use a lot of your food and I realize it might not be the best way to apologize because I don't have any money to compensate."  
Asami just smiles softly and fully enters the kitchen, "It's alright. It's perfect even, I'm not a great cook so this works out wonderfully."

After breakfast and once they've packed all the leftovers in the fridge ( _a fridge, yes_ ), the woman seems to steel herself for a second.  
"So…" she starts, slow and hesitant, "you asked me my name yesterday, and I figure it's only fair since I know yours."  
Asami is once again surprised, this time by the courage of the woman. Or maybe not, given who this is she's talking to.  
"My name's Korra."  
"Nice to meet you, Korra," Asami says sincerely and without fuss.

Of course she figured out who she was after seeing her body -well, face- good as new after her bath. Piercing blue eyes, check. Firebending, check. Reluctance to reveal her identity, check. Waterbending, check. But Asami isn't stupid, it's obvious Korra is hiding, not to mention, not in a good place, mentally. The way she sees it, she saved the world at least three times, and lost immensely in the process, all before the age of 18, if she decided to disappear from the earth for the rest of her life, no one can blame or judge her. After all, Avatar Aang did disappear for 100 years and Avatar Roku did let the 100-year war happen because he loved the firelord too much to stop him. Avatar Korra had to kill her uncle and singlehandedly brought back the Air Nation. She doesn't owe anyone to save the Earth Kingdom, despite the claims of those lazy reporters and world leaders.

She doesn't say any of it, and lets the surprise wash off of Korra's face before thanking her for trusting her enough to tell her her name. Korra obviously struggles with the idea of telling her she's the Avatar, but decides against it. She wants to pretend for a while, she figures she'll have to leave very soon, but this feels nice, why ruin it.  
Somehow, Asami is able to hide her relief, if Korra explicitly says what she is, Asami will have to as well, and she does not want Korra to hate her for her father's deeds. She doubts she would, but this is nice, why risk it.

"Do you have somewhere to be today?" Asami asks and Korra is tempted to deflect and run, as usual, but she has an inkling Asami wouldn't let her. And maybe, just for once, she doesn't want to be a complete disappointment. So she doesn't.  
"Well I do have to earn my keep. I'm sure this little auto shop I know right around the corner would be interested in a pair of strong arms, don't you think?" Korra is joking, which is new, and nice, but she doesn't expect Asami to agree.  
"Mmm, I think I know which shop you're talking about. I know the owner personally, let me put in a good word for you."  
Again, Korra is astounded by Asami's kindness and forgets to answer, trailing after her downstairs.  
"So, Korra, do you have any experience with engines?"


	3. Chapter 3

“I can't believe you don't know how to drive! Tomorrow, I'm teaching you!"

Asami is so excited at the prospect that Korra doesn't have the heart to tell her she'll be gone by tomorrow. So she nods and smiles one of her small smiles. She seems to be giving them more freely, the more time she spends with her. Though they're small, they're a huge improvement compared to the past six months. Suddenly, she misses Naga and her mom and dad, and her smile falters.

Asami notices and asks if she's okay. She hasn't asked that since their initial meeting. And surprisingly, Korra hasn't been seeing the ghost of her failure these past few days. Sure, she's had the same -always the same- nightmare some nights, but it's been so long since she's lived a day without running after or away from her chained self. So, it comes out the closest to sincere she's been in a long time when she replies that she is.

 

"You know, I'm not stupid, I know you're hoping to slip away before tomorrow" Asami says after closing time.

Korra stutters and looks down guiltily.

"Just give me a proper goodbye when you do, please?"

That was not what she expected and she feels the urge to wrap Asami in a hug when she hears the vulnerability in her voice. It's been so long since she's hugged anyone besides her parents that she freezes and then the moment is gone. But it seems to have sparked a new hope in Korra. She knows the idea seems foolish but if she can connect with this stranger, maybe she can reconnect with her Avatar spirit. She misses her, misses Ravaa.

"I will, I promise. And I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." And she sounds so weary when she says it that even Korra -selfish, dumb, numb Korra- gets it. She doesn't know who, maybe everyone Asami's ever known, but someone she loved left her despite making a promise. And this time, she doesn't hesitate, she wraps her in the biggest hug she has the strength for.

 

That night, Asami remains at her workbench no later than 10. Even though she feels like shutting herself off, she decides instead to enjoy every moment she gets to spend with Korra. When she goes to lock the door, she sees a small white dog peering at her silently. It doesn't wear a collar, not that it means much around here, but the dog's noticeably clean, which is weird in itself. It approaches the door and crosses Korra's line of sight, and she gets a fleeting sense of déjà vu until it yips.

"Do you think he has an owner?"

The dog's ears perk up at the question and he yips again, before running inside like he owns the place.

"I guess we're keeping him for the night," Asami jokes and follows him upstairs.

Korra finds them in the kitchen after she's checked the locks and shut the lights off in the shop.

The dog seems to trust Asami a lot and is very reluctant to leave her side, but he still chooses to sleep with Korra. She's grateful for it when he wakes her up every time a nightmare becomes unbearable, as if he can sense it. Him licking her face also reminds her of Naga for a second when she wakes, and it surprisingly puts her in a good mood.

 

This morning, like every morning before, she wakes long before Asami and decides to prepare breakfast -or, well, tea, since they still have some leftovers. After idling and wondering if she should just leave, she decides to knock on Asami's door. She did mention she was welcome to on her first night here. So she pours a mug of tea and goes to the master bedroom.

When she doesn't get a reply after the first couple of knocks, she cautiously opens the door. "Asami? I made tea."

She's met with the blindingly low sun shining through the open curtains and framing her host. She's finally awakening, it seems, and when she sees her, sits up with a sleepy smile.

"Thank you, Korra." And here is that raspy voice again. Coupled with her bare face, it all feels so intimate that Korra fears she's overstepping. It's made worse when Asami folds the sheets away and gets up, wearing only a loose shirt and underwear.

"So, uhm, here, tea. And I wanted to tell you that I'm gonna be leaving soon."

At that, Asami's smile falls, and she just nods, accepting the mug silently.

"So, yeah, I'll just- I'll be waiting in the kitchen."

"I'll be right out," Korra hears softly when she's closing the door.

 

She comes out 20 minutes later, looking once again perfectly poised with her flawless makeup and a suit. It's actually the first time Korra has seen her wearing something other than a jumpsuit or sweatpants, let alone a skirt, and she can't help but feel it's a sort of body armour for her. But the way Asami is looking at her, expectant and brave, makes her think she's missing something, like Asami is trying to give her a clue, but a clue to what?

So she deflects, and they say goodbye, and she leaves with the dog in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna thank [contronym](http://archiveofourown.org/users/contronym), for beta-ing this. Check out her Calefaction fic, it's amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks to [contronym](http://archiveofourown.org/users/contronym) for taking the time to beta for me amidst everything.

She decides she needs money, so she goes to another fighting ring to register for that night. She spends the day wandering, trying to find a lousy job, and some lousy grub. When comes the time to fight, she, of course, gets her butt kicked, no surprises there. The dog seems to disapprove all the while, and tries to make her follow him back to Asami's afterwards. Or so she thinks, but when it runs away and she follows him without thinking -as if he is her responsibility to begin with, she sees he's leading her to the edge of the city, and she realizes her mistake only when they find themselves all the way to the swamp, and he's changed back into his spirit form. And of course, now he's being all cryptic and unhelpful about how she needs to find someone that will help her in here. Where, of course, here being the spirit swamp, she gets pursued and battered by her own nightmare self.

 

So, apparently, the someone she was supposed to find is earthbender master and metalbending creator, blind, cranky, old Toph Beifong. Who also seems to enjoy beating her up ( _ that's a lot of beating up she's endured lately _ ) for a few days, before informing her she still has metal in her body. But OK, Toph also helps her connect with the grove tree's spirit energy, find the airbabies -who are all grown up now- and get rid of the metallic toxin. And yeah, she still has a ways to go, but for the first time in a long time, she feels ready to go back to Republic City.

 

But first, she has a promise to keep.

 

To say Asami is surprised to see Korra again so soon would be an understatement.

"See, I kept my promise," Korra says, and her face is so earnest that Asami cannot help but hug her fiercely. Korra has changed, Asami can see it plainly, she looks a lot happier, but also much healthier, and has she put on some muscle?

"You look good," Asami says softly.

"I am better, I feel so much lighter," Korra explains, pulling away.

Asami eyes the three children who jumped down after Korra and are now beaming at them. They're dressed in stretchy colorful suits, and she recognizes them as Councilman Tenzin's children. She met them when they were younger, so she doubts they remember her, though Jinora seems to, but she abstains from saying anything. Smart kid.

"Asami, meet the airbabies, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Airbabies, meet Asami."

"Hey, I'm not a baby, I'm a man!" Meelo strikes a pose.

"You'll always be babies in my eyes." Korra ruffles his hair and turns to Asami, "Kids, they grow up so fast." Upon hearing Asami laughing at the exchange, Korra smiles fondly at her.

"Why don't you all come upstairs?" Asami offers.

"You two go on ahead, we have to take care of Pepper first." Asami doesn't miss Jinora's pointed look to Korra, who instantly sobers up, and is she actually nervous?

"Alright, come on, Korra, we'll prepare something to eat."

 

In the kitchen, Korra silently fidgets while Asami sets out plates and utensils. They don't really have much time to talk, the children are probably just stalling for a few minutes to give them space, so she swallows her nervousness.

"I'm sorry, Asami, I wasn’t entirely truthful with you before." Asami turns around to face her properly, and smiles softly. "I- what I didn't tell you- what I couldn't tell you because I wasn't -not really- at the time, but now I am, well I'm not completely there yet, but-" A pause. "I'm the Avatar." She looks up, expecting anything but Asami still smiling softly and much closer now.

"I know, Korra. I get it." Asami says and Korra is once again amazed by her kindness. "I haven't been completely honest about what I am either." Her reasons are very different, but Asami can understand the need to run and hide and be alone for a while. She's been alone for more than three years now.

Korra furrows her brow, she never could hide her emotions that well. Not that she wants to right now anyway. She's obviously surprised by Asami's willingness to forgive her so easily, and confused and a bit worried about what Asami might say next.

Asami takes a deep breath and confesses, "My name is Asami Sato, my father is Hiroshi Sato, and I technically own Future Industries."

Korra's first instinct is to tense up, but she knows Asami, not very well and not for very long, but this woman is the most caring and kind person she's met, she could never act like her father.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that. I feel dumb now."

Asami laughs, half-relieved, half-genuinely happy. "Imagine my mortification when I realized I'd almost assaulted the Avatar."

Asami is startled by Korra's sudden laughter. It's the first time she has sounded so genuinely carefree and happy, and it warms her heart to see her on the path to recovery.

The children choose that moment to come get Korra. "I'm sorry, Asami, but we should get to Zaofu as soon as possible," Korra admits sheepishly.

But Asami counters, "It's late, you all should stay the night. You three will sleep in the guest bedroom, Korra with me."

 

Once they're all in their rooms, Asami settles in bed next to an already dozing Korra and turns off the light.

"Goodnight, Korra."

"Goodnight, 'Sami."

"Don't forget to say goodbye tomorrow."

“I won’t, I promise.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to [contronym](http://archiveofourown.org/users/contronym) for her invaluable help

Korra wakes with Asami wrapped around her, awake and looking at her. And is she rubbing her back?

"Sorry," she mumbles, rolling out from under her, "Sorry for waking you."

"Don't apologize." Asami looks thoughtful and concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I should have mentioned I sometimes have nightmares," Korra dismisses her concern.

"Do you have them often?"

"Not often, no. Not anymore."

Asami hums, "Are you nervous about going back to Zaofu?"

She takes a moment to think about it. "Yeah. I mean, it's going to be my first public appearance in three years."

"And it's where you faced the Red Lotus for the first time," Asami points out.

"I think I might be more concerned about being a good Avatar," Korra muses. "What if I fail again, Asami?"

She looks up to meet Asami's eyes, and she looks so vulnerable in that moment that Asami envelops her in her arms again. She rests her chin on Korra’s shoulder and tries her best to reassure her. "You'll be dropping in on a three-year old conflict. If Kuvira and Su refuse to see reason, it will not be your failure, Korra." She's not sure if she succeeds. Well, she's pretty sure she's not helping, but in Korra's place, she'd prefer the truth over meaningless promises.

She lays back a bit against the pillows and continues to rub Korra's back, until she feels her breathing slow down. She's tempted to sleep in that position, but it's not her decision to make, so she untangles her arms and rolls back to her side of the bed. Only to feel Korra spoon her hesitantly when she begins to doze off. It startles her and she freezes, so Korra asks sleepily, "Can I?" She hums in response and places her hand on top of the arm Korra has wrapped around her stomach.

 

In the morning, Asami -surprisingly- wakes up before Korra. She slowly gets up and goes to make breakfast. She's soon joined by the children, who are already way too awake for her, so she pours Korra and herself tea before retreating to her bedroom. Korra is still sleeping, now hugging a pillow. She sets the cups on the bedside table to sit on the edge of the bed, and softly touches her shoulder, "Korra?"

Korra hums after a second.

"You need to wake up," she murmurs and moves to stroke her hair. "I brought you tea."

Korra hums again and Asami shifts to lean against the headboard on her side of the bed with her newspaper and mug. Waiting for Korra to wake up like that, and with the kids loudly enjoying breakfast, it all feels very domestic in a nice way. She misses living with people. She misses her parents.

 

She looks at her for a moment, pondering her feelings towards this amazing, strong woman. She's pretty sure she isn't confusing platonic and romantic feelings, but it's hard to tell; she hasn't had a friend in so long. She could see herself falling for her so easily, that she's sure of, she can see it coming from a mile away. She's afraid of what it means, seeing as she hasn't felt a connection to anyone like this since leaving Republic City. At first, she feared revealing her past, she was on the run and so, so afraid. No one seemed interested in her though, not the police, and not even the media. Her fear quickly morphed into anger towards her father's betrayal, and guilt for still loving him. She moped around for some time before throwing herself back into her work, effectively shutting herself off from the rest of the world, save for the rare customer. Mostly, she fixed shoddy Cabbage Corp cars and worked on her personal projects.

 

But now here she is, three years later. She's decided to go back to Republic City, it's time she reclaim her company and work to rebuild the city and help the Earth Nation (she refuses to acknowledge the dictatorship she's witnessed). She just needs to finish repairing her car and sell the shop, which shouldn’t take long.

And she’s pretty sure she’s developing an attraction for the Avatar, whom she's known for a total of eight days. Asami, though, will not tell Korra any of that, figures she has more important news to deal with.

  
It takes Ikki and Meelo bursting in to finally force Korra to wake up, and consequently stir Asami away from her musings. By then, Korra's tea is cold and she doesn't take the time to eat breakfast. But she does not forget to say goodbye and promises they'll see each other again. After everything Asami's done for her, she owes her more than a goodbye.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, huge thanks to [contronym](http://archiveofourown.org/users/contronym), without whom you'd have a pretty bad ending

By the time Korra returns to Republic City, Asami's had a productive couple of weeks. She's found the letters her dad has been sending to the mansion and met with him, made some kind of peace offering in the form of a Pai Sho game. She's also finally taken control of Future Industries, shifting its focus away from military engineering, and has met with President Raiko to discuss how her company can best aid in rebuilding the city. Of course the media have had a field day, or week, with her and Korra's return.

Consequently, she's heard what happened in Zaofu from the papers, but she's not quick to believe everything they say. She just hopes Korra is okay, physically and mentally. She'd made so much progress, she really hopes it hasn't affected her recovery.

 

She isn't sure if she should contact Korra, go to Air Temple island, send her a message, or something. She knows she has a life here, full of friends and family, as well as responsibilities, why would she want to see her? Does she even know Asami moved back? Should she try to bring up their short "friendship"? What if she wanted both worlds to remain separate?  No, she should contact her, let her know she's in Republic City. In a professional way:  _ Future Industries and its CEO Asami Sato are happy to welcome you back to Republic City _ . No, too formal. Give her a call then? Yes, invite her to lunch. 

 

Lunch ends up meaning being invited to Air Temple island to meet everyone.

Senna immediately embraces her warmly, and Tonraq squeezes her shoulder, “We’re so happy that you found Korra when you did. Thank you, Asami.”

Before she has time to reply, she is crushed in a side-hug by a compact mass of muscle. “Bolin, let her breathe,” she hears a voice coming from behind the famed probender. He releases her and turns to beam at his girlfriend, who soothingly rubs Asami’s arm, “Hi, I’m Opal.”

“Nice to meet you two,” Asami replies. “I was a huge Fire Ferrets fan.”

Before she can apologize for what happened three years ago, she is interrupted by a cranky huff coming from a suspicious Mako, and Korra elbows him in the rib for it.

Councilman Tenzin is cordial, while his wife -Pema- radiates warmth like they have something to bond them; and well, she is the only other non-bender here. Jinora gives her a short and sweet hug, while Meelo still plays the gentleman, and Ikki excitedly starts asking her about why she's back.

 

This all feels very welcoming and incredibly overwhelming after her self-imposed isolation. She is almost relieved when it develops into a defense meeting. She has expertise she can offer and soon, a plan is devised.

  
  


It all rapidly devolves into closely escaping death and thinking up a new, less thought-out, and much riskier plan. It involves freeing her dad to work on their old flying suit project. She doesn’t dwell on any of the stirring of conflicting thoughts and emotions, and soon, they’re flying together into battle against a giant mechatank. 

  
  


 

And honestly, how could she think she could have anything good for more than a few days? How could her dad sacrifice himself right after finally starting to mend their relationship? She has no one left now. No family, no friends, not even amicable colleagues. At least she has her company back so she can continue to do what she's best at, drown her feelings in work. And there's a lot of work to be done, considering Kuvira managed to destroy most of the city, ripping a new spirit portal through its center. Kuvira, who just surrendered, thus securing the luxury to stay alive while so many died at her hands.

 

Korra finds her in the gazebo, mulling over everything.

"I'm so sorry, Asami," she says softly and puts her hand on hers. She looks at it for a moment. Isn't it sad that she has no one close enough to know what to say to comfort her? But this is of her own doing. How stupid was she, taking for granted her dad's life? She wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt her, and she ended up getting hurt even more.

When she keeps staring at their hands without reply, Korra wraps her in a hug.

"I'm here for you, if you need to talk or anything, okay?"

And that's when she lets the weight of everything crash into her and she breaks down, sobbing into Korra's shoulder. Korra is warm and strong and so, so caring. She lets her weep until she's too exhausted to cry anymore.

"Come on, you're sleeping with me tonight."

And somehow, the way she phrases it, so innocently, makes her smile a little. It reminds her of that morning before Zaofu and everything, and she's grateful to have Korra, even if they're not exactly friends.

  
  


Afterwards, following that calm sad night, everything is a flurry of angry citizens and happy reunions. There's apparently a wedding to plan, and people to reassure, and commanding officers to interrogate. Everyone is busy and Asami finds it easier to overexert herself than to mourn. Korra will have none of it though, she keeps dropping in to feed her and force her to sleep. Korra exists as a patient constant in her life until she is able to really grieve. She never asks her to open up, or talk even. She's just happy to be here for her and listen when Asami needs her to. They mostly spend nights in each others’ company, working tirelessly during the day. Korra usually comes to pick her up at her office late at night and they drive back to Air Temple island together. Pema always leaves them food after everyone's gone to bed, and they eat in Korra's room, that’s basically become their room. Asami is touched that Korra would want to spend what little free time she has primarily with her. But she's waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Korra to resume her life.

 

When they attend the funeral and she finally says goodbye to her dad, lays it all out to him, the anger and guilt and sadness, and everything in between, with Korra and Bolin respectfully waiting a few paces away; well, she thought Korra would distance herself. Or no, she didn't expect it, because Korra is too sincere and loyal, but she feared it. She feared having to sleep alone with her nightmares, and having to go back to living on her own.

 

And after the wedding, when she's ready to accept she has friends, and feelings for Korra, and that, maybe, probably, she'll be okay, Korra surprises her again - _ how does she keep doing that? _ She comes to find her sitting alone on the steps overlooking the bay, staring at the spirit portal. “How are you enjoying the party?”  _ How are you feeling _ , Asami understands the question to be.

“I’m happy we’re both here now.”  _ I couldn’t have handled losing you and my father in the same day _ , she wants to say.

Korra turns to her earnestly, “Asami, I know you have a company to run, but you’ve effectively been a part of Team Avatar for a while‒-since we met if I’m being truthful, and I want to officially ask you to join us-join me.”

Asami is glad Korra is pointedly staring at the waves when she replies. “I’m a non-bender, Korra,” she argues as she selfishly wants to accept.

“You are an intelligent, kind and brave non-bender. You helped me through the worst time in my life and you were invaluable in our victory against Kuvira. I couldn’t ask for a better team member.” And now she’s fiercely looking back at her. “A better friend,” she adds softly, almost shyly, if not for her unwavering gaze, and Asami really hopes she’s not projecting.

She focuses on the city lights, pondering for a moment. “Alright, I accept. I will stay by your side for as long as you’ll require.” She isn’t sure if she’s said enough but when she finally faces Korra, she wraps her in a relieved hug. “I promise,” she adds in her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment, any type of criticism is welcome


End file.
